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Blockchains provide a public mathematically verifiable ledger or database. This prevents cheating and stealing and generally allows for more holistic integrated

by ilaksh 4y ago

Blockchains provide a public mathematically verifiable ledger or database. This prevents cheating and stealing and generally allows for more holistic integrated systems that are based on computer science rather than trust in institutions. Along with them you get digital signatures which are a key advance in digital money allowing transactions without disclosing secrets such as credit card numbers. Combined with smart contracts, you are really moving away from a trusted rent-seeking middleman model for basic functionality and getting all of that in a vastly more reliable way using computers and the internet. Blockchains and related cryptocurrencies literally make the current financial system obsolete.

rhaway84773 4y ago
By paragraph: 1. The problem with this is falsifying ledgers has not been a problem with institutions for centuries. Institutions will cheat you in many different ways. But literally eliminating transactions is not one of them. In the meanwhile, the blockchain adds tremendous complexity and other problems to solve a problem which hasn’t really been a problem. 2. Blockchains are not needed for digital signatures. 3. Smart contracts are only more useful for on-chain transactions because the moment you move off chain you’re back to trusting the entire institutional infrastructure setup to ensure anything really happens. 4. Lol.
acdha 4y ago
We had digital signatures decades ago, and it’s only accurate to say that blockchains prevent certain forms of tampering with the records on the blockchain[1]. Similarly, you’re not getting rid of middlemen but replacing them with the ones selling tokens, doing conversion into real currency, writing smart contracts, running oracles, etc. Maybe those middlemen will charge less or be easier to work with but that hasn’t been the case so far and there’s no guarantee that it will ever be. 1. The blockchain says I sold you a toaster but when you get the box it has a rock. Which one is right? Now repeat for a house where I neglected to mention that I didn’t have a clear title, etc. Oracles attempt to solve this but then you’re back in the position of trusting people and reputations, just slower and more expensively.

by ilaksh 4y ago

rhaway84773 4y ago

By paragraph: 1. The problem with this is falsifying ledgers has not been a problem with institutions for centuries. Institutions will cheat you in many different ways. But literally eliminating transactions is not one of them. In the meanwhile, the blockchain adds tremendous complexity and other problems to solve a problem which hasn’t really been a problem. 2. Blockchains are not needed for digital signatures. 3. Smart contracts are only more useful for on-chain transactions because the moment you move off chain you’re back to trusting the entire institutional infrastructure setup to ensure anything really happens. 4. Lol.

acdha 4y ago

We had digital signatures decades ago, and it’s only accurate to say that blockchains prevent certain forms of tampering with the records on the blockchain[1]. Similarly, you’re not getting rid of middlemen but replacing them with the ones selling tokens, doing conversion into real currency, writing smart contracts, running oracles, etc. Maybe those middlemen will charge less or be easier to work with but that hasn’t been the case so far and there’s no guarantee that it will ever be. 1. The blockchain says I sold you a toaster but when you get the box it has a rock. Which one is right? Now repeat for a house where I neglected to mention that I didn’t have a clear title, etc. Oracles attempt to solve this but then you’re back in the position of trusting people and reputations, just slower and more expensively.